Round Two

Left (T – Tie; M – Win)

あやしくも時雨にかへる袂かなゐなの笠はらさして行けども

ayashiku mo shigure ni kaeru tamoto kana ina no kasawara sashite yukedomo

How strange that From the shower I shelter Beneath my sleeves! Though into the umbrella of the dwarf-bamboo groves of Ina Is where I’m heading…

A Court Lady
3

Right

ぬるれども嬉しくもあるか紅葉ばの色増す雨の雫とおもへば

nuredomo ureshiku mo aru ka momijiba no iro masu ame no shizuku to omoeba

Soaked, yet Happy am I! For the scarlet leaves Take on brighter hues with these rain Drops, I feel…

Lord Akikuni
4

Toshiyori states: The first poem’s section on ‘the umbrella of the dwarf-bamboo groves of Ina’ is well expressed, but then is ‘shower I shelter’ referring to clothing? The second poem can be read as meaning that the speaker is happily being soaked by raindrops standing beneath scarlet leaves on one particular day, but getting drenched by any old shower, even if it’s one which stains leaves scarlet is not something that would make one happy and, sounds tedious. Both poems sound vague, so they should tie.

Mototoshi states: ‘the shower I shelter / Beneath my sleeves’ is better than ‘Happy am I!’